U.S. National Park Service

Millions of visitors leave tons of garbage in America's national parks every year. To cope with the problem, the U.S. National Park Service, Dow Chemical Company, and Huntsman Chemical Corporation formed a partnership in 1990 to recycle plastic, glass, and aluminum at three parks. Today, recycling programs are in place at seven parks, including Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, the Everglades, and the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The program features recyling bins near visitor centers, special recycling bags for hikers and campers, and kiosks made from recycled materials. In the first two years of the program, visitors recycled over 616,000 pounds (229,768 kg) of plastic, glass, and aluminum. The program is expected to reduce park garbage sent to landfills by 25%.